


Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Identity Reveal, Rain, Tough battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Having a secret hideout can't protect them from the darkest aspects of their occupation, but it certainly helps. Until that one time when it becomes too much and Ladybug breaks down.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 25
Kudos: 212





	Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NOIRequin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NOIRequin/gifts).



> Noir, this is a gift for you for reaching level 50 on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord Server! Congrats and thank you for being such a great mod (and a wonderful person all around!)  
> I hope you like what I did with your prompt!
> 
> Title from Born To Die by Lana Del Rey

Nothing could make Marinette long for their cosy base like the rain falling around her. It was cold, wet and she was already tired. In her mind, she could see the apartment they’d kind of inherited from Master Fu. After a few akuma battles that saw them leave to recharge and return a few times, while desperately trying to stay hidden, and then looking for a place where to crash afterwards to rest before going home, she’d discussed it with the kwamis and decided to use the key left to her together with Master Fu’s letter.

They’d added a sofa, some old blankets, a few mugs and an electric kettle. They didn’t need anything else but Marinette had to agree that the fresh flowers she often found there (surely brought by Chat, who else?) made it more homey. It was usually just them, but sometimes the other superheroes were there as well when they gathered after a battle to regroup and discuss tactics. But as the days grew shorter and the nights colder, she and Chat found themselves there after patrol. She realised she looked forward to those peaceful hours there with him more than she would have wanted to admit until recently. They would talk, joke around, just vent sometimes or sit in companionable silence. She was careful not to read too much into it, but didn’t know how much longer she could keep it up.

As thunder sounded in the distance, she returned to the present. Yes, she would give anything to already be in their dry and warm hideout instead of outside fighting Hawk Moth’s latest victim. 

But the battle only got tougher. When she thought it couldn’t get worse, she saw Chat fall lifeless to the ground in front of her, taking yet another hit for her, and she snapped. It was over before the akumatised villain could react. She captured the akuma with tears in her eyes and barely managed to say Miraculous Ladybug. Once everything was recovered and she saw Chat sit up, looking around in confusion, she ran out of there. It took everything in her to keep it together until she got to their base, where she finally crumbled to the ground, sobbing. 

*

“M’lady?” She heard a cautious question behind her. She didn’t have it in her to look at him, sobs still racking her body. When she felt his arms close around her, she sought his warmth, clinging to him desperately. 

“I’m sorry,” she heard him say. She looked up at him but all she could see was his motionless body there on the street, her cry of “No!” echoing in the air. She felt a gloved hand caress her cheek but still couldn’t make herself focus on him. 

Terror and agonising sorrow battled inside of her. She couldn’t live without him, she couldn’t do this without him. She loved him, oh God she did. It was a pity that it had taken her so long to realise it. 

“I’m here, it’s alright,” he was saying, but her mind refused to hear. She tried to blink back the tears from her eyes, but it was to no avail. And then she felt his lips on hers. Soft and warm. He was alive and he was there and she wanted nothing more than to be his.

He tried to move back when she stopped trembling, but her hands kept him in place. Her fingers found his wet hair and pulled him closer. She felt something rush through her as she kissed him, something warm and soft, strong enough to erase the horrible memories for a while. 

“I love you,” she said when they came up for air. She could finally see his eyes, full of adoration, but still with a hint of apprehension in them. 

“I shouldn’t have kissed you like that, but I couldn’t think of anything else,” he said apologetically. 

“You did the right thing. I just… It was one time too many. My heart can only take so many times seeing you die,” she said, taking a shuddering breath.

“I’ll always come back, you know that.” He said with a sad smile. “Marinette,” he added softly.

Oh, this. In her emotional state she’d totally forgotten that she must have detransformed upon arrival. She smiled. 

“You can tell I’m not really myself right now, because I don’t care that you know at all.”

“You just realised there are more important things?” He supplied and she nodded. Yes, that was it. 

“It’s my turn, I guess,” he said. She blinked. Right. Of course it made sense for her to know too. He smiled in response to seeing her hesitate.

“Or we can leave it for another time? You had enough excitement for tonight.” 

“No, you’re right. I need to know. Now.” It didn’t really matter, as long as he was alive and there with her. It was just a little detail. There were more important things, he was right.

“Plagg, claws in,” he whispered and she instinctively closed her eyes. “Marinette?” he asked, his voice amused.

“Sorry! Force of habit,” she laughed nervously and opened her eyes. The wet hair could have thrown her, but not enough. It was still unmistakably him. 

“Adrien,” she said. Wow. 

“Hi,” he said with a shy smile. She just hugged him again, not even paying attention to the way her hair made his shirt wet and he just held her. 

“I wish I could ask you to be more careful and for you to agree and this would be it. But I know it’s not possible,” she mumbled. She felt his fingers comb her hair genty.

“Look at it like this. We’re here for a reason. We have a role we have to fulfil, we were chosen. Yes, it’s dangerous and yes, none of us deserves to go through this. But we agreed to this when we became superheroes, right?”

He sounded so reasonable that she wanted to agree. But it didn’t dull the pain inside of her.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered.

“I know. But if I had to choose and I hope I always get to make this choice, you’d be the one to stay because they need you. That’s why I sacrifice myself every time. You can shout at me, you can cry. I’ll be there for it. But I can’t change a thing.” She closed her eyes, biting her lip. It still hurt.

“At least we have this place where we can be ourselves. It’s not much but it’s ours,” he added.

“You make it feel like home,” she said, finally looking up. 

“For me it is more of a home than my real one,” he said with a sad smile. “Now all the more so.” It was all there in his eyes and she was sure hers mirrored them - the trust, the love, even hope against all odds that maybe together they would somehow make it work. That was all that mattered for now. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You want to see what we're talking about? Come join the [ Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks)!


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